It is known to use twin roll casters for continuous casting of metal strip. In a twin roll casting process hot metal is introduced between a pair of contrarotated horizontal casting rolls which are cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving roll surfaces and are brought together at the nip between them to produce a solidified strip product at the outlet from the roll nip. The hot metal may be introduced into the nip between the rolls via a tundish and a metal delivery nozzle located beneath the tundish so as to receive a flow of metal from the tundish and to direct it into the nip between the rolls.
In order to prevent accumulation of metal oxides and slags or other contaminants on the roll surfaces, cleaning devices such as brushes or cleaning belts may be applied to the outer longitudinal sides of the rolls so that the roll surfaces are continuously cleaned before moving into contact with the molten metal in advance of the nip. One apparatus of this kind is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication J03230849-A of Nippon Steel Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries KK. In this apparatus two sets of divided roller brushes are applied to the peripheral surface of each chilled casting roll with the brushes of one set being staggered with respect to those of the other set to provide a brushing action across the complete width of the casting roll. Japanese Patent Publication J63207450-A also of Nippon Steel Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries KK also discloses a twin roll caster in which the casting rollers are cleaned by roller brushes.
Problems in maintaining adequate contact between cleaning roller brushes or belts and the chilled casting rollers can arise due to thermal expansion and contraction of the rolls during the casting process which can result in a change to the shape of the roll surface. More particularly, an initially cylindrical roll may become noncylindrical so as to have a concave curvature or alternatively a convex or hogged configuration. The result is that the cleaner cannot be applied to the roll with even pressure throughout its length and may even lose contact with some parts of the roll surface, leading to an impaired cleaning action. The brush of the present invention enables this problem to be substantially overcome.